Threadbug
Threadbugs are a common sight for those who are looking for them on their homeworld of Surpraxxia. While a necessary part of Surpraxxia's delicate food web, they quickly become major pests off-world as they will feed on any flora, faunal, or even inanimate matter (such as electrical cords) they come across. They are barely recognized by the local sapient species, the Surpraxx (of which the Savpraxx are by far the best known), as they care little for creatures they are not directly related to, due to their lifestyles of all-out war between hives; they simply do not have the time to study "useless" species. Statistics *'Singular/Plural:' Threadbug / Threadbugs *'Species Nicknames:' Strings *'Home Planet:' Surpraxxia *'Species Type:' Cold-blooded Terrestrial Invertebrate *'Communicative Style:' Threadbugs do not possess the ability to vocalize, and instead adapted to use their feathery antennae instead, by waving them up and down, left and right, at quick speeds, making very soft "zipping" sounds, which they can then hear through their hearing spiracles. *'Lifestyle:' Solitary foragers *'Hunt/Forage Success Rate:' 50% Hunt (25% Success Rate), 50% Forage (60% Success Rate) *'Armor:' With such a small size, the Threadbugs are not tremendously well-defended against the oh-so-many larger species, but against predators and parasites alike of equal or small sizes, they have a toughened exoskeleton. *'Defenses:' A Threadbug's natural defenses are relatively limited. Their first line of defense is to flee, usually into very thin cracks or crevices that their foes cannot get in to. As a second line of defense, they have their exoskeleton, which can deflect minor attacks. However, if a foe proceeds to pester the Threadbug, it will resort to its final line of defense, its mandibles. *'Weapons:' Threadbugs are not built specifically for attacking, and generally are forced to use only their mandibles to kill prey or defend themselves. In the case of prey, they may wrap their thin forms around their opponent to try to subdue it. *'Tools:' Like other insectoid species on Surpraxxia, Threadbugs cannot directly manipulate objects. *'Method of Eating:' Bites chunks of matter off of intended food, and chews it up with its chewing mandibles. Mandibles then close to aid in swallowing function, pushing food down into the fore-gut, which aids mostly in the breaking down of plant-equivalent materials. From here it eventually enters the mid-gut, where digestion truly begins. Once converted into very small particles by the acidic contents of the mid-gut, it is passed on into the hind-gut, which extracts any and all necessary and useful nutrients from the processed matter. The rest is excreted from the body at the other end. *'Reproductive Rate:' Threadbugs come into heat once every season, with the mating habits differing ever so slightly through each due to the climate of their location. In this style, summer mating habits are generally more frantic and over quicker, while winter mating habits are slower and much more cautious and energy-conserving. *'Gestation:' Once impregnated, the female Threadbug will gestate her eggs for around 20 days, as she slowly builds up the froth needed from specialized glands to produce her oothecas. *'Offspring Incubation:' Once birthed into the ootheca, the eggs will be carried for two weeks by the mother, at which point they are deposited in a hidden location where they will remain for the next two weeks. Threadbug mothers will guard their "nests" from hungry males, parasites, and other predators. After the full month is over, the nymphs will hatch. *'Number of Offspring:' Each ootheca laid by the Threadbug females possess around 45 eggs, while approximately 7 oothecas are laid per female. This means a grand total of 315 nymphs may be born per birthing. *'Offspring Survival Rate (before age of maturity):' 10% — Threadbug larvae are small, quick, agile, and clever, and therefore many are able to survive to adulthood, although the vast majority are still eaten by predators or, on occasion, crushed underfoot. Category:Somarinoa's Content Category:Spore Content Category:Original Aliens Category:Species Category:Extraterrestrials Category:Non-Sapient Species Category:Scourge Space Pirates Category:Galactic Pests Category:Surpraxxia Inhabitants